Zohar - The Beauty Of Our Sages Words

THE ROSE Rabbi Hizkiyah opened (began): “It is said, as a rose among thorns” (Shir HaShirim, 2:2).

For there is a rose, and there is a rose.

He asks, “What does a rose represent?” He answers, “It is the Assembly of Israel, meaning Malchut.

He asks, “What does a rose represent?” He answers, “It is the Assembly of Israel, meaning Malchut.

For there is a rose, and there is a rose. 

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Just as a rose among thorns is tinged with red and white, so does the Assembly of Israel (Malchut) consist of judgment and mercy. Just as a rose has thirteen petals, so the Assembly of Israel consists of thirteen properties of mercy, surrounding it on all sides.

After all, Elokim         

(the name of the Creator that alludes to His attitude towards the lower ones by the force of judgment), as it is said, ‘In the beginning, Elokim created’ (the first sentence in the Torah), In the beginning (initially) when He thought it, He created thirteen words to surround the Assembly of Israel and to protect it, and here they are: THE, HEAVEN, AND-THE, EARTH, AND-THE EARTH, WAS, EMPTY, ANDCHAOTIC, AND-THE DARKNESS, OVER, THE FACE, OF THE ABYSS, AND-THE SPIRIT, up to the word Elokim” (In Hebrew, “and” is written in conjunction with the word following it. Hence, it is considered as one word).

The Example of the Original Text of the Zohar